Egypt is striving to increase its production of the Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19, hoping to become a hub for vaccine export to Africa and protect its population of over 100 million amidst a fourth wave of the pandemic. The government is preparing new facilities that it claims can produce several million doses of the vaccine daily, and it is also in talks with an unspecified European vaccine-producing country.
Dr. Heba Wali, Chairwoman of the Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines "VACSERA," stated, "We are currently discussing with some companies... We care a lot about diversifying sources, and God willing, soon we will announce with a European company, and hopefully, their vaccine will be manufactured."
Wali added, while speaking at VACSERA's headquarters, that one million doses of the VACSERA-Sinovac vaccine have already been distributed within Egypt. In recent months, Egypt has also received shipments of vaccines produced by Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Sinovac, and Johnson & Johnson. Health Minister Hala Zayed stated last week that nearly 7.5 million people in Egypt have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The fourth wave of COVID-19 infections is expected to peak in late September after a decline in cases, according to the Egyptian minister. The new VACSERA facility outside Cairo aims to start production in November with a capacity of one billion vaccines annually.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated in a statement on Monday that "the production rate we aim for reflects not only our goal of achieving self-sufficiency in vaccines but also our hope to export to our brothers in African countries and the entire region."
Wali mentioned that Egypt's Chinese partners have overseen the local production lines and dismissed doubts about Sinovac's effectiveness, pointing to its approval by the World Health Organization. She added, "But of course, with the emergence of new mutations of the virus, companies start working on their vaccines and study their effectiveness against the new mutations, and if the company confirms its ineffectiveness, it develops its vaccine."
On Monday, Egypt recorded 263 new infections, raising the total to 288,162, including 16,727 deaths. Officials and experts assert that the actual number is much higher but does not reflect in government figures due to low testing rates and the exclusion of private lab results.
